5 children rescued in the Philippines after B.C. sexual exploitation case
Published 9:46 am Wednesday, September 16, 2026
|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready…
|
A New Westminster man has been charged with multiple child sexual exploitation offences in an international investigation that led to the rescue of five children in the Philippines.
Gerard Saunders, who lived in New Westminster at the time of the alleged offences, is charged with possession of child sexual abuse material, making child sexual abuse and exploitation material and agreeing or making an arrangement with a person to lure a child, police said in a release Tuesday (Sept. 15).
Saunders was released on an undertaking with “extensive conditions.” He appeared in court Monday, with his next date scheduled for Oct. 7, according to B.C.’s Court Services Online.
New Westminster Police Department’s major crime unit started the investigation in June 2023 after receiving information from the RCMP’s integrated child exploitation unit.
Police say the investigation stemmed from an upload of child sexual abuse material from an IP address over a public platform.
The activity was traced by investigators to a residence in New Westminster.
A suspect was identified and officers searched the suspect’s home, seizing multiple electronic devices for forensic examination, the release says.
Police say that information obtained during the investigation indicated possible child sexual exploitation offences involving victims in the Philippines.
Five child victims in the Philippines were identified and rescued, police said. Authorities in the Philippines also arrested the children’s mother in connection with child sexual exploitation offences.
“This isn’t a victimless crime, and these are real children behind those screens. This investigation highlights the reality of the far-reaching harm that these offences can cause to children, their families, caregivers, and communities,” New Westminster police media relations officer Sgt. Andrew Leaver said.